Some worshippers said the overwhelming victory of abortion rights activists seeking the repeal of the Eighth Amendment of the constitution reflects a weakening of the Catholic Church's historic influence and fills them with dread for Ireland's future.

Savita's husband, Praveen Halappanavar had said that he and his wife had repeatedly asked for the pregnancy to be terminated after her admission to hospital, but they had been told: "This is a Catholic country".

"I am religious but the church has definitely lost influence here because of the scandals", she said.

Northern Ireland only allows terminations if a woman's life is at risk. Other MPs from all parties have begun pushing for a vote in parliament on the issue and on Saturday the leader of Sinn Fein in Northern Ireland, Michelle O'Neill, held up a sign after the vote count that said: "The North is next". "Our daughter's soul is now consoled", Savita's parents said.

Another politician from the party, Jim Wells, a former Northern Ireland health minister, said that the result in Ireland was "an extremely worrying development for the protection of the unborn child in Northern Ireland".

Ireland's Indian-origin Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, who campaigned in favour of liberalisation, said it was "a historic day for Ireland", and that a "quiet revolution" had taken place. All but one of the country's 40 constituencies voted in favor of repeal including traditionally conservative rural counties where support came close to 60 per cent. Varadkar wants to remove the current language on abortion, paving the way for terminations up to 12 weeks into a pregnancy and only in very limited circumstances - such as a fatal abnormality - after that.

On Saturday, the worldwide development secretary, Penny Mordaunt, said Ireland's vote was a "hopeful" day for the north. Amnesty International calls the victory a "momentous win for women's rights" that "marks the beginning of a new Ireland". Exit polls also showed that nearly every age group backed repeal with the highest percentage of support coming from voters aged 18 to 24 who voted 88 per cent in favor of dropping the constitutional ban.

Since 1983, the Eighth Amendment had forced women seeking to terminate pregnancies to go overseas for abortions, bear children conceived through rape or incest, or take risky illegal measures at home.

Backing for repeal was highest among young voters, including many who returned from jobs or universities in continental Europe to vote, but was also high among every age group except those 65 or older.

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